The price of diesel continued its upward spiral Tuesday, Oct. 4, in spite of the fact that prices for crude oil continued to drop.

ProMiles reported a national average price for diesel of $3.136 per gallon Tuesday, up a little more than a penny from the previous day.

However, prices in some areas did come down. Vermont, Utah, Pennsylvania, Oregon, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Maine, Maryland, Kansas, Florida and Delaware all reported slight dips in prices.

Prices for light, sweet crude oil dropped less than $2 a barrel to $63.80 in afternoon trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

According to The Associated Press, market analysts say the drop could be attributed to a number of factors. The summer driving season is over and the winter heating oil season has yet to begin in full swing.

In addition, U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman said the U.S. would “do what is necessary with the strategic reserves” in response to concerns about heating oil inventory Monday, Oct. 3.

Heating oil and diesel are made from the same petroleum distillate.